Hey everyone,
When i work out, I use dumbells for mostly everything that i would use a barbell for. Is this benifital. The owner of the gym i used to go to said that it will help develope all the little muscles (stabilizers) when im working out one area.
Is this true? Am I really getting more out of my exercises when i do this?
Thanks,
Ben
What’s your goal?
Dumbbell squats and deadlifts are never more beneficial if you actually want to get big and strong
Wild_Iron_Gym is spot on, it depends on your goals.
That said, this is the powerlifting sub-forum. Powerlifting (the sport) is done with a bar with as heavy weight as possible.
Dumbbell deadlifts, if you could find big enough dumbbells, would be really awkward with some serious weight. With a barbell you can just drop the weight at the top position or if the grip slips. Drip a big dumbbell on your foot and you’ll be out of training for a while.
Dumbbell squats, it just seems awkward to max out on those.
Dumbbell bench, well why not. But missing a max lift seems like it would tear something much easier than with a bar because you can’t use the safety pins on the rack. Also, getting into position would be an issue.
Dumbbells will help you develop your stabilizing muscles, but they will force you to use less weight than with a barbell. If you want to develop maximum strength, use primarily barbells with dumbbells for assistance.
[quote]aeyogi wrote:
Dumbbells will help you develop your stabilizing muscles, but they will force you to use less weight than with a barbell. If you want to develop maximum strength, use primarily barbells with dumbbells for assistance.[/quote]
^ This. Dumbbells are good for certain exercises (Shoulder Press, Bench Press, Row, etc.), but a Dumbbell deadlift or squat? Really?
Ya i dont use anything but barbells for legs. I am also sorry about posting in the wrong section. Not sure where it was supposed to go.
Thanks,
Ben
As several previous posters indicated, barbells are better for strength since you are lifting more total weight. Dumbbells do make useful assistance exercises for sure. Almost all strength tests use barbell lifts to measure strength, if you never do barbells you will find it awkward when you do the lift.
[quote]Neverhavemoney wrote:
Ya i dont use anything but barbells for legs. I am also sorry about posting in the wrong section. Not sure where it was supposed to go.
Thanks,
Ben[/quote]
db lunges are about the only good db leg exercise i can think of
[quote]yo6002 wrote:
[quote]Neverhavemoney wrote:
Ya i dont use anything but barbells for legs. I am also sorry about posting in the wrong section. Not sure where it was supposed to go.
Thanks,
Ben[/quote]
db lunges are about the only good db leg exercise i can think of[/quote]
Yes doing squats or deadlifts(other than RDL’s) with DB’s seems just plain awkward and unneccesary. Even with lunges, I tend to go barbell more. Seems more challenging. Not after saying all that, I have done(and still do) bulgarian squats, step ups and other unilateral movements that work well with DBs. But barbell wins in that section. With everything else, mixing is superb